Airlines are getting grounded jets back into the air. The bills left by a years-long engine crisis are proving much harder to bring down.
Air New Zealand AIR.NZ offers a glimpse of how those costs can linger. Engine problems at one point left as much as 20% of its fleet unavailable, forcing it to lease extra aircraft and engines to protect its schedule.
Availability has since improved sharply, but Chief Executive Nikhil Ravishankar told Reuters it could take 12 to 18 months to shed the extra leases and related costs, only partly offset by supplier compensation.
The crisis was fueled by durability problems affecting some newer engines and a Pratt & Whitney powder-metal problem that forced accelerated inspections and removals, compounded by shortages of labor, parts and repair capacity. Airlines leased replacement engines and aircraft to keep flying, leaving them with higher overhaul, parts and lease costs even as groundings ease.
Delayed deliveries from Boeing BA.N and Airbus AIR.PA are adding to the pressure by keeping older jets in service longer and pushing some airlines into engine work they had expected to avoid.
A Reuters analysis of U.S. Transportation Department data found that across six large U.S. airline operations, reported spending on engine labor, aircraft-engine repairs and engine materials rose about 68% between 2019 and 2025, while hours flown increased about 10%.
The same pattern appeared in the latest available Transportation Department data, with reported spending in those categories up 17% in the first quarter from a year earlier while hours flown increased less than 2%.
Maintenance spending can vary with engine age, accumulated cycles, fleet-management decisions and the timing of shop visits, during which engines are removed from aircraft for inspection or repair. The Transportation Department data do not identify what caused the increase.
GE Aerospace GE.N, Safran SAF.PA and RTX RTX.N did not respond to requests for comment. Rolls-Royce RR.L declined to comment.
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